ZimRights Newsletter Issue 11
Last week’s arrest of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume who is also the convener of the 31st July movement has shown that the government has no intention of respecting the freedoms that are enshrined in the bill of rights. The two are accused of violating sections 187(1)(a) as read with section 36(1)(a)of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.
During the week police obtained a search warrant for Econet wireless seeking information on the mobile phone subscribers’ transactions. The warrant was later suspended by the High court following intervention by ZimRights and MISA.
President Mnangagwa tightened the lockdown regulations and introduced a curfew from 6pm to 6am. Many ZimRights members from high density suburbs said they had to walk to as far as Chitungwiza as there was no public transport.
On 24 July 2020, the UN OHCHR Spokesperson Liz Throssell, speaking to journalists in Geneva, expressed concern over allegations suggesting that Zimbabwean authorities may be using the COVID-19 crisis as a pretext to stifle freedom of expression and peaceful assembly on the streets. See full statement below.
